Litquake 2021: SF’s Literature Festival (October 7-23)

San Francisco’s literary festival with author events, poets, activists and performers – 300+ authors at 80+ online and in-person events, with many of the events being free.

Litquake, San Francisco’s annual literary festival, was founded by Bay Area writers in order to put on a week-long literary spectacle for book lovers, complete with cutting-edge panels, unique cross-media events, and hundreds of readings. Litquake seeks to foster interest in literature, perpetuate a sense of literary community, and provide a vibrant forum for Bay Area writing as a complement to the city’s music, film, and cultural festivals.

Litquake 2021  Festival
October 7 – 23
80+ events • 300+ authors
Many events free
Complete schedule available at Litquake.org

2021 Festival Highlights

Litquake Outdoor Free Festival at Yerba Buena Gardens
Saturday & Sunday, October 16-17 from Noon to 4:45pm at the Esplanade at Yerba Buena Gardens (Mission btwn 3rd & 4th) – FREE

Saturday, October 16
Noon-1pm – The Revolution Poeticized
1:15-2:15pm – The Hydra: A Series for Black and Brown Experimental, Flash, Sci-fi, and Horror Writers and the People Who Love Them
2:30-3:30pm – Three Voices, Three Worlds
3:45-4:45pm – Naming Out Ancestors: A Reading

Sunday, October 17
Noon-12:45pm – Debut Poetry in COVID
1-1:45pm – Philippine America Writers and Artists
2-2:45pm – Black Freighter Press
3-3:45pm – Patrice Lumumba: An Anthology of Writers on Black Liberation with MoAD x Nomadic Press
4-4:45pm – Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network

Lit Crawl – Saturday, October 23 – 5-9p – FREE – One of the most anticipated literary nights of the year, San Francisco’s Lit Crawl is a massive, one-night literary pub crawl throughout the city’s Mission District. Started in 2004, Lit Crawl cultivates a unique, resonant brand: smart and silly, worldly and wacky events presented in venues usual (bars, cafes, galleries, and bookstores) and unusual (police stations, tattoo parlors, barbershops, and laundromats). FREE

Free Live In person Events

• Grace Notes: Poetry at Grace Cathedral – Sat Oct 9th 8:00pm – 10:00pm – FREE (Pre-registration required)
• Straight, No Chaser: Writers at the Bar – Tue Oct 12th 7:00pm – 8:30pm – Vesuvio Cafe, 255 Columbus – FREE (Pre-registration required)
• Alternative Histories – Tue Oct 12th 7:00pm – 8:30pm – American Bookbinders Museum, 355 Clementina St. – FREE (Pre-registration required)
• The Tarnished Side of the Golden Gate: New Novels – Wed Oct 13th 7:00pm – 8:30pm – American Bookbinders Museum, 355 Clementina St. – FREE (Pre-registration required)
• Poison for Breakfast with Daniel Handler & Andrew Sean Greer – Fri Oct 15th 7:00pm – 8:30pm – American Bookbinders Museum, 355 Clementina St. – FREE (Pre-registration required)
• Litquake in the Gardens – Sat & Sun – October 16-17 – Noon to 4:45p at Yerba Buena Gardens – FREE
• Light on Fire: The Art and Life of Sam Francis – Tue Oct 19th 6:00pm – 7:30pm – Hotel Emblem – 562 Sutter – FREE (Pre-registration required)
• The Relic Report: San Francisco’s Monuments – Wed Oct 20th 7:00pm – 8:30pm – California Historical Society, 678 Mission St – FREE (Pre-registration required)
• Concepcion: An Immigrant Family’s Fortunes with Albert Samaha and Jason Bayani – Wed Oct 20th 7:00pm – 8:30pm – American Bookbinders Museum, 355 Clementina St. – FREE (Pre-registration required)
• Litcrawl – Sat Oct. 23 – 5 to 9pm throughout the Mission – 23 different events in three different phases (5-6p, 6:30-7:30p, 8-9p) – See full schedule

General Festival Highlights

Appearances and events at this year’s festival, both in person and virtual include Dave Eggers, Isabel Allende having a sit-down with Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Daniel Handler & Andrew Sean Greer talking the first new Lemony Snicket book in over a decade, Michelle Richmond, Alia Volz, Brandon Hobson in conversation with Tommy Orange, former soldier and self-described cable guy, as well as lesbian author & humorist Lauren Hough, Reading, Writing, Robots AI and Literature, Chef Bryant Terry with the launch of his latest book at MoAD, actor Danny Trejo and his memoir Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood with Donal Logue & Joe Loya as well as director of the new documentary, The Capote Tapes, Ebs Burnough in conversation with San Francisco Chronicle’s Tony Bravo among others

This year the festival is presented in partnership with Yerba Buena Community Benefit District, and will feature in-person events throughout the neighborhood, from the Contemporary Jewish Museum and the California Historical Society, Children’s Creativity Museum, American Bookbinders Museum, and the Outdoor Esplanade at Yerba Buena Gardens; In addition select live events will be held at Grace Cathedral, Vesuvio, Hotel Emblem, and various venues during the Lit Crawl through the Mission District

• Opening night party with devorah major and the Marc Capelle Trio: Thursday, October 7 at St. Joseph’s Arts Society
  
• Brandon Hobson in conversation with Tommy Orange: Friday, October 8 (virtual)
  
• Series of six writer’s Panels at the Contemporary Jewish Museum including memoir, literary journals, MFA programs and debut authors featuring Cara Black, Grant Faulkner, Carolina de Robertis and others: Saturday, October 9 and Saturday October 10
  
• The Capote Tapes documentary and interview with director Ebs Burnough by San Francisco Chronicle arts writer Tony Bravo: Saturday, October 9 (virtual)
  
• Words Around the World: October 9 & 10 (Six live virtual events with authors from Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, and the Czech Republic)
  
• Poets at Grace Cathedral: Saturday, October 9
  
• Reading, Writing, Robots AI and Literature (Co-presented by City Lights Booksellers & Publishers, The Grid, and Gray Area): Monday, October 11 (virtual)
  
• Writers at the Bar hosted by Alia Volz: Tuesday October 12 at Vesuvio
  
• Michelle Richmond, Beth Lisick and Kathy Seligman: Wednesday, October 13 at American Bookbinders Museum
  
• Kidquake: Thursday, October 14 (virtual)
  
• Lauren Hough & Julia Scheeres: Thursday, October 14 (virtual)
  
• Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket celebrates the release of his first new Lemony Snicket book in more than a decade in conversation with Andrew Sean Greer: Friday, October 15 at American Bookbinders Museum
  
• Litquake Out Loud: Saturday, October 16 at Yerba Buena Gardens featuring BIPOC and LGBTQ+  events curated by Imani Cezanne, Vernon Keeve III, Achy Obejas and Shruti Swamy
  
• Isabel Allende in conversation with Ingrid Rojas Contreras: Saturday October 16. This virtual/streaming program is in partnership with the Cheltenham Literature Festival
  
• Actor Danny Trejo and his memoir, Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood with Donal Logue & Joe Loya: Sunday October 17 (virtual)
  
• Dave Eggers author of the to-be-released-in-early October, The Every in conversation with Thi Bui: Tuesday, October 19 (virtual)
  
• Jaime Cortez & Jose Vadi with Oscar Villalon: Tuesday, October 18 at California Historical Society
  
• Chng-rae Lee & Natalie Baszile: Wednesday, October 19 at St. Joseph’s Arts Society
  
• Poet Tomás Morín with Texas Poet Laureate Lupe Mendez in partnership with Texas Book Festival: Thursday, October 21 (virtual)
  
• Chef Bryant Terry with his new book, Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora: Friday, October 22 at MoAD
  
• Paul Auster and Eddie Muller: Friday, October 22 (virtual)
  
• The return of the mighty Lit Crawl: Saturday, October 23 at various venues in San Francisco’s Mission District from 5 – 9pm in three phases: 5-6pm, 6:30-7:30pm and 8-9pm